The Glass Desert
"The Glass Desert...you really believe it exists, huh? Only loonies who read too many books and wastrel artists bother trying to find it. Good riddance" Description Despite rumors to the contrary, the Glass Desert does indeed exist. It is quite a long journey from the City of the Lost from boat, and a lethal one by foot. The City only knows of its existence from the fact that the famous gnome artist, Bapup Giddiup, actually sailed there and back again. She returned with a beautiful painting that inspired the artistically inclined among the city's population to follow her on a second, permanent expedition to study the beauty and unique properties of its expanse. Geography At one point sands dusted this expanse of desert, but now it has all hardened into thick, multicolored glass across is length and breadth. On its outskirts the glass curls up sharply, wrapping the land in a sort of bowl-like wall with few natural gaps. The further in one explores the smoother and hotter the land grows. Glass starts to take up strange properties too, different shades emerging apart from the mundane green that makes up the outer reaches - simmering red, swirling purple, shifting blues all infused with magic. Only the first few inches of sand is glassed until you enter the interior of the desert, allowing flora and fauna to thrive beneath the surface. The further in one walks, the thicker the glass beneath, and the more wild the magic infused into the land, becomes. Here, the winds start to pick up hundreds of glass shards in a swirling maelstrom of death - a lethal prospect for raider and adventurer alike. To make the land even more inhospitable, the shine of the glass ground is so blinding that without specially crafted eye-wear any explorers will be blinded and left to wander aimlessly. Due to such hazards, none have seen what lies at the center of this blinding portrait of glass and magic, and secrets have an allure that will attract adventurers for all time regardless of how many die in their mad pursuit of beauty, riches and glory. History There isn't much known about the Glass Desert quite yet, even Bapup Giddiup has not been too deep into its expanse, the history of the Glass Desert is more so the history of the Arsyria, the village just outside its borders. Inhabitants Undead monsters, glass-based magical aberrations, fire elementals, and similar creatures are standard fair for the Glass Desert, and only grow in quantity the further in you venture. There are evidence of kobolds living somewhere deeper inside the Glass Desert, as well, and they have been seen roaming the glassy surface in force. Notable Locations Ribcage Caverns At the center of the Glass Desert lie the gargantuan remains of two great dragons of unsurpassed size, entwined in a lethal final embrace. In their remains live a substantial population of kobolds, the source of the raiding bands that harass bohemian insurrections. Arysia Founded by Bapup Giddiup three years ago, it is a village of artists and scholars who work obsessively to depict the nearby desert's beauty in ever more complex ways. For many it has become a feverish obsession that see the village through sleepless nights of frantic painting and star-staring. Only time can tell if these wandering minds will lead the town astray as they seek inspiration from ever more alien and arcane paths. Strange Properties A dazzling quantity of magically infused materials - gems, metals, and glass - can be found and harvested within the desert's borders. Unfortunately, those same sources of wealth are usually inhabited by beasts and marauders.